1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shape memory polymers and, more specifically, to an elastomeric shape memory polymer material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are a class of smart polymeric materials that have the ability to “memorize” a permanent shape, be manipulated to retain, or “fix” a temporary shape, and later recover to its original (permanent) shape upon a stimulus such as heat, electricity, or irradiation. They are great candidates for a variety of applications including actuators, deployable medical devices, smart adhesives, toys, sensors, among others. Although a large number of SMPs have been developed so far, there are very few of them that are “soft”, or elastomeric, although the demand for soft actuators is high, especially in the medical field. Two existing material systems that fall into this category are main-chain liquid crystalline elastomers and shape memory hydrogels. However, they either show relatively high synthesis and manufacturing cost, or require the material to be in a hydrated state, both limiting their use in broader industrial applications.